Whiffletree



E. J. SMITH.

(No Model.)

WHIPFLETREB.

No. 508,444. Patented Nov. 14, 1893.

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JZZOrneyS.

PAT-,ENT Fri-Ga EDWARD J. SMITH, lOF ALMONT, MICHIGAN.

v WHIFFLETREE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 508,444, dated November 14, 1893.

Applioation'iiled July 15, 18 93 To @ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD J, SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Almont, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Whiflletrees; and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thejinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which 1t pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying draw- 1ngs,'which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to whifdetrees, and has for its object an improvement in that class of whiffletrees which yield forward to compensate for thel jerking `motion of the horse, and to overcome the jarring and irregular motion of the vehicle, dueto the irregular motion of the horse.

Inthe whiffletree which embodies this invention, the yielding motion is produced by cutting the whiffletree into two parts, which are hinged together at their inner ends, or at the middle of the complete Whiflietree, and are held together by the hinge pin, and Vby the concealed spring which is located within cavities in the meeting ends of the two parts of the whiflietree. f

In the drawings Figure l shows the cornplete whiflletree, the middle or meeting ends being to show the interior construction. Fig. 2, shows the spring and thev coupling links, and the means by which they are united. Fig. 3 shows a guard clevis; Fig. 4,'a washer adapted to secure the spring to the coupling link. Fi-gs. 5 and 6 show end views of the meeting ends of the halves of the whiffletree. A and B, indicate two short tubes provided with hinge knuckles a, b, and with a pintle hole, c, through which a pin or bolt is passed that joins the two short'tubes with a rule joint hinge. On one of the short tubes A, is a hood that projects beyond the end of the tube B, and covers the meeting line between the two. In the outer end of eachA of the tubes A and B, are inserted short pieces ofstrong wood vwhich form the main part of the whiflletree.

Each of the pieces ofrwood D and E, are firmly secured to the tubes or bolts. In each of the tubes A and B, near their outer ends is an internal collar,cl, d. Within the tubes betweenthe collars d, d', is an expansion spring F, and Within the expansion spring is Serial No. 480,576. (No model.)

apair of linked bolts, e, e; each bolt is secured -to one end of the spring F, and is also secured to one of the tubes Aor B; the means of securing the parts together being as follows: At each end of the spring D, one of the coils is spread slightly from the body of the spring, and the linked bolts are inserted into the spring with one end of the bolt, e, which is threaded reaching out beyond the end of the spring at one end, and the threaded end of the bolt e', reaching out beyond the other end of the spring. Adjusting nuts g, g', are run onto the screw threads of the bolts, and split rings, h, h', of a size large enough to engage with the coil of the spring, and with a perforation or hole small enough to engage with the nuts, g, g', are placed inthe spread part of the coils as shown in Fig. 2. Holding nuts j,j, are next run onto the threaded ends of the bolts, and the parts are adjusted so that the spring can be extended for a short distance before the eyes,f,f, of the bolts e, e', have reached a drawing position to prevent the further expansion of the spring. The spring and bolts are now inserted in the cavity of the tubes, one end of the bolt, e', passing through the hole in the collar d', and one end of the bolt e, passing through the collar, d. Holding nuts are next run onto the threaded ends using between them and the collars in terposed washers if desired. This part of the assembling must be done before the wooden ends of the whitlietrees are inserted in the tube.

R, indicates the clevis used with this whiffletree which is made with a dat plate fr, provided with screw holes by which it may be secured to the cross bar ofu the thills with a standard R', standing at right angles to the plate r, and concaved to tit closely over the knuckles a, b, of the hinge joining the two ends of the .whifdetree, at the top and extendingbackward over the pinhole of the hinge is the leg r2, provided with` a pin hole which registers with the pinhole inthe plate r. This clevis is rigidly secured to the cross-bar and the whiftletree is held byit, by means of the pin which Yforms the hinge pin of the whiffletree. The hinge pin or knuckle part of the hinge is placed to the front, and the tension of the spring concealed within the cavity within the whili'letree holds the ends of the IOO whiietree back against the strain of the tugs, but allo ws.-theends of the whifletree to yield forward, and thus produce the desired yielding and spring action.

5 The hood C, eectually prevents anything from catching in the opening between the ends of the whiiiietree.

WhatI claim is- 1. In a spring whifiietree, the combination :o of a two part hollow Whiftletree hinged together at its middle, a spring located within the cavity and secured to both, of said parts, bolts secured to the ends of said spring, meeting and linked together between the ends i 5 thereof, whereby the expansive motion of said spring is limited, substantally'as described.

2. In combination with a two part whithetree, hinged together at its middle point, a spring uniting the two parts, and provided zo with means to prevent its expansion, and a clevis provided with a concave standard, adapted to form a housing for the hinge, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I sign this specica- 2 5 tion in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD J. SMITH.

Witnesses:

CHARLES F. BURTON, EFFIE I. CROFT. 

